Spring is here and birds are nesting.  If you happen upon a bird’s nest, take a quick peek and then let the parents raise their young.  However, be vigilant about what you see.  During this time of year a unique parasite is also active at bird nests.  In the United States, the Brown-headed cowbird (refer below) is also active during the spring, laying it’s eggs in other birds’ nests.   At the first opportunity, when both parents are away from the nest, a female cowbird will sneak in, remove a couple of the original eggs from the nest and replace them with her own.  The nest below shows the aqua colored brown speckled eggs of the chipping sparrow.  Also included, are the larger white eggs with brown speckling.  These are the cowbird eggs that have parasitized the Chipping sparrow nest.  The cowbird eggs will hatch first and the offspring will outcompete the native nestlings by growing faster, calling louder and displaying a bright red throat patch (refer below) which attracts the foster parents to feed them more.  Many species of birds can be negatively impacted by the parasitic brood habits of the cowbird, especially forest interior species that are exposed to cowbirds due to increasing habitat fragmentation.  So the next time you see a nest, be excited and marvel at your find, but remember, there can be a lot more going on than you think.

Students from the Millersville Conservation Planning class put together videos of their Service Learning projects they completed as part of their final exam.  Below are links to their masterpieces.  These works show the variety of experiences these students were involved in, what they learned about conservation planning and the benefits of giving back to the local community.  Click on the links below to view their videos on You Tube.  Great job!   

1. Meta Griffin, Emily Martin and Corianne Petesich.  Volunteer with Lancaster Conservancy.

http://youtu.be/o5_T0dqbSZY

1. Amy Chau and Melissa Carpino.  Volunteer work with Lancaster Central Park.

http://youtu.be/HRx9fELUueA

1. Lindsey Levine and Tristan Conrad.  Volunteer work with Lancaster Central Park.

http://youtu.be/-WHKOPoPWSw

1. Nicolo Pomone, Emily Neideigh and Nichelle Guzman.  Volunteer with Lancaster Conservancy.

http://youtu.be/nvjhCeo-tWI

1. Heather Smith, Adriana Rodriguez and George Welborn.  Volunteer with Lancaster Conservancy.

http://youtu.be/qjR56G_Kng4

1. Jennifer Teson, Dan Korman and Jason Thomas.  Volunteer with Lancaster Conservancy and Lancaster Central Park

http://youtu.be/jy4tIEKys7M

On May 3-4^th 2014, Millersville Biology students set out to help Hawk Mountain in a search for Broad-winged Hawk nests.  Students camped overnight on the Mountain.  The following students participated in this effort: Meta Griffin, Vince, Juel Shamitko, Kyle Brady and Kayla Branyan (not shown are Toni Ann Vidal and Jennifer Teson).  The students found multiple nest structures and spotted a few hawks overhead.  In addition, students got to see a good number of migratory birds during the day and different species of salamanders at night. 

The staff at Hawk Mountain were great hosts and made the students feel very welcome.  A pizza party social was also held, and Millersville students got the opportunity to mingle with Hawk Mountain Interns whom come from all over the globe.